Savignago's monograph represents the culmination of over a decade's work and is the first (to my knowledge) of its kind,1 comprising some fifty-eight case studies of tragic papyri whose columns have irregular left-hand margins--i.e. some of whose verses are indented to various degrees relative to one another. The Aristophanic scholia vetera describe such alternations of margin with the terms eisthesis (indentation) and its opposite ekthesis. These variations appear in tragic papyri in a variety of contexts, but usually for the purpose of marking metrical change, from sections of trimeters to tetrameters or to lyrics, etc. The volume is to be welcomed, not only because its case studies tidily collect the relevant data and scholarship, but also because the analysis of marginal variation opens up a variety of scholarly issues--reconstructing metrical features and fragmentary plays, as well as clarifying extant tragedies' textual history. Those with interests in the individual passages or fragments in question will find it a helpful resource; Savignago grasps well the technical problems pertaining to the papyri, and the bibliography is rich and multilingual.

Kleopatra-Studien contains nine studies by Heinz Heinen primarily on the late Ptolemaic period published between 1966 and 2009. One of Heinen's main research areas is the Hellenistic world with a special focus on Egypt. Only the last paper is published here for the first time. All contributions were newly typeset and are presented in chronological order starting with the oldest. Three essays that recently have been republished in another volume of 29 selected writings by Heinen are marked with an asterisk.
Etc. at BMCR

The Last Pharaohs:
Egypt Under the Ptolemies, 305-30 BCJ. G. Manning

The history of Ptolemaic Egypt has usually been doubly isolated--separated both from the history of other Hellenistic states and from the history of ancient Egypt. The Last Pharaohs, the first detailed history of Ptolemaic Egypt as a state, departs radically from previous studies by putting the Ptolemaic state firmly in the context of both Hellenistic and Egyptian history. More broadly still, J. G. Manning examines the Ptolemaic dynasty in the context of the study of authoritarian and premodern states, shifting the focus of study away from modern European nation-states and toward ancient Asian ones. By analyzing Ptolemaic reforms of Egyptian economic and legal structures, The Last Pharaohs gauges the impact of Ptolemaic rule on Egypt and the relationships that the Ptolemaic kings formed with Egyptian society. Manning argues that the Ptolemies sought to rule through--rather than over--Egyptian society. He tells how the Ptolemies, adopting a pharaonic model of governance, shaped Egyptian society and in turn were shaped by it. Neither fully Greek nor wholly Egyptian, the Ptolemaic state within its core Egyptian territory was a hybrid that departed from but did not break with Egyptian history. Integrating the latest research on archaeology, papyrology, theories of the state, and legal history, as well as Hellenistic and Egyptian history, The Last Pharaohs draws a dramatically new picture of Egypt's last ancient state.

J. G. Manning is professor of classics and history at Yale University, and a senior research scholar at Yale Law School. He is the author of Land and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt and the coeditor of The Ancient Economy: Evidence and Models.

Endorsements:

"This fascinating book has broad views that should appeal to many people who are neither specialists on ancient Egypt nor the ancient Greek world. J. G. Manning has a perfect knowledge of his subject."--Alain Bresson, University of Chicago

"Most scholars who study Ptolemaic Egypt are specialists in either Greek or Egyptian demotic papyrology, work below the level of large-scale narrative, and write technical studies that are not always accessible to historians. And the evidence from Ptolemaic Egypt is often considered parochial since Egypt is thought of as unique in the ancient world. J. G. Manning's book answers all these problems. Leaving the niche of technical papyrology and showing convincingly why Ptolemaic Egypt is important for the study of state formation and the ancient economy, he approaches the period as a real historian and puts his subject in the context of current international scholarly debate. The Last Pharaohs will impress ancient historians in general, and should make the Ptolemaic state an important case study in the literature on authoritarian states and state formation."--Katelijn Vandorpe, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Table of Contents:

List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Abbreviations xv

INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1: Egypt in the First Millennium BC 19
CHAPTER 2: The Historical Understanding of the Ptolemaic State 29
CHAPTER 3: Moving beyond Despotism, Economic Planning, and State Banditry 55Ptolemaic Egypt as a Premodern State

CHAPTER 4: Shaping a New State 73The Political Economy of the Ptolemies

CHAPTER 5: Creating a New Economic Order 117Economic Life and Economic Policy under the Ptolemies

CHAPTER 6: Order and Law 165Shaping the Law in a New State

CHAPTER 7: Conclusions 202

APPENDIX 207
The Trial Record of the Property Dispute Held at the Temple of Wepwawet in Asyut, Upper Egypt, 170 BC before the Local Laokritai-judges

55 - 69 - 'Nectanébo-le-faucon' et la dynastie lagideGORRE, Gilles Abstract :The cult of Nectanebo II is well documented in the Ptolemaic period. As is clear from Egyptian source material, the clergy of his cult functioned continuously from the XXXth Dynasty to the end of the 3rd century BC at least. In the Alexander romance Nectanebo also appears as father of the conqueror. The present paper investigates the link between the memory of the king and the Ptolemaic royal cult.

71 - 97 - Greek Polytheophoric NamesAn Onomastic Fashion of Roman EgyptBENAISSA, Amin Abstract :Greek personal names joining the names of two deities (e.g. Hermeracles) have long been known to be characteristic of Roman Egypt, but have never been studied comprehensively. This article offers an overview of the formation, variety and distribution of these ‘polytheophoric’ names, an exploration of their relation to traditional Greek and Egyptian onomastic practice, and some remarks on their socio-religious significance. It emerges that such names were popular especially between the second and the fourth centuries, followed regional preferences, and reflect an elite milieu in the metropoleis of Roman Egypt grounded in Hellenistic interpretations of Egyptian religion. A list of polytheophoric names preserved in documentary papyri and inscriptions (excluding names in -άμμων) is appended.

111 - 120 - Der Begriff κολων(ε)ια in den ägyptischen PapyriDIETZE-MAGER, Gertrud Abstract :While it is a known fact that no Roman coloniae, i.e. self-governed cities of Roman law in which all citizens possessed Roman citizenship, were founded in Egypt, the term colonia transcribed into Greek appears in several papyri of the Roman period. This paper discusses the relevant sources and tries to determine the reality behind the term. The author comes to the conclusion that the Egyptian coloniae were veteran settlements. They do not seem to have been widespread. They possessed certain corporative rights, but no self-government. As such they are different from the known coloniae in other provinces.

261 - 281 - Divine Mission and Human DestinyMaurice Druon's Alexander Romance Fifty Years LaterHAUBEN, HansAbstract :Written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Maurice Druon’s historical novel on Alexander the Great (1958), the present article aims at putting this literary product in its historical context: the personal and familial background and literary career of the famous French novelist (1918-2009), the social and ideological shifts of the late 1950s, other contemporary Alexander novels like those of Roger Peyrefitte and Julien Tondriau. Having stated the value and impact of high-quality historical novels in general, the article analyzes the proper qualities and basic ideas of Druon’s narrative, which presents itself as the diary of Alexander’s main seer Aristandros. Inspired in part by certain ‘egyptosophic’ currents, the author tries to detect a global, basically religious, sense in history. Interpreted as one of the great ‘divine bastards’ of humankind, the Macedonian king is credited with a providential rôle. The study concludes with a rudimentary attempt to confront some aspects of Drion’s seductive views with Alexander’s own ideas and historical reality.

39 - 82 -
The Power Struggle of the Diadochoi in Babylon, 323 BC
MEEUS, Alexander

83 - 101 -
La 'stèle de Saïs' et l'instauration du culte d'Arsinoé II dans la chôra
COLLOMBERT, Ph.
Abstract :
A new translation of the so-called ‘Saïs stela’ shows that the entire document concerns the institution of the cult of Queen Arsinoe II in the chôra in the 20th year of Ptolemy II. This event can be linked with the assigning of part of the apomoira to the same cult in year 21 and with some economical measures taken in the same period. Since the cult of Arsinoe II had been first established in Alexandria some five years earlier, the initial reason for instituting it must be interpreted as a mere family matter. It would appear that the will to include the Egyptian population in her worship only arose at a later date.

103 - 135 -
The Expulsion of Cleopatra VII: Context, Causes, and Chronology
PEEK, Cecilia M.
Abstract :
This article treats the removal of Cleopatra from her throne and from her country in the early part of her reign. Near the end of Cleopatra’s life, when she had no remaining hope that she could withstand Octavian, we are told that Egypt offered to rise and fight the enemy on her behalf. This offer suggests that Cleopatra had achieved great popularity as the ruler of Egypt. But she had not always been so secure in her position—early in her career she had, in fact, been deposed and driven out of Egypt. This article attempts to answer several disputed questions about the details of this deposition. Who were Cleopatra’s enemies? Why did they oppose her? When and how did they succeed in excluding a sitting queen from power? Existing analyses attempt to explicate some of these mysteries, but they fail, I believe, to account fully for the ancient evidence, and to describe the conclusions that must be drawn from that evidence. Taking documentary and literary evidence into consideration, I attempt to reconsider the matter. The ancient sources point to a more limited number of enemies than is sometimes believed, a much later date than is always asserted, and motives and methods that have largely been ignored.

285 - 316 -
Lists of Gods on Papyri and in the Hermeneumata Pseudo-Dositheana
A Comparative Study
HUYS, Marc, PITTOMVILS, Ann
Abstract :
Lists of divinities are a standard part of the thematic glossaries of the bilingual schoolbook Hermeneumata Pseudo-Dositheana, of which different versions have been preserved mainly in Western manuscripts of the 9th and 10th centuries. On the other hand, several monolingual as well as bilingual god-lists are extant in papyri from the 3rd cent. BC to the 3rd-4th cent. AD. This article offers a detailed comparison of these ancient and medieval lists (including those of the Hermeneumata Celtis) in order to determine whether there is some kind of continuity from the ancient god-lists found in papyri and ostraca to the lists in the medieval manuscripts of the Hermeneumata. We are able to show that there was at least an undeniable general correspondence between the two groups of texts, and to reveal their connection with ancient lexicographical literature. At the same time, the dissimilarities within and between the two groups seem to confirm the opinion of Dionisotti that we cannot speak of a traditional stemma or of an ‘archetype’ for the Hermeneumata schoolbooks in general nor for each of its sections.

Clarysse - Thompson, P.Count (Corrected edition) in paperback

Volume 1, Population Registers (P. Count)

Series: Cambridge Classical Studies

Willy Clarysse

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Dorothy J. Thompson

University of Cambridge

Paperback

(ISBN-13: 9780521124874)

Also available in Hardback

Published December 2009

Available, despatch within 1-2 weeks

$65.00 (G)

How did a new Egyptian dynasty cope with the problems of establishing rule in a country with a long history of developed administration? This volume publishes fifty-four Ptolemaic papyri from the Fayum and Middle Egypt, with English translations and extensive commentaries. Dating from c. 250-150 BC and written in either Greek or Egyptian demotic, the texts record lists of adults, arranged by village, occupation and social group, and by household, together with the taxes paid on their persons, their livestock and trades. Volume I provides the documentary basis for the historical studies of Volume II, enabling it to reveal much about Hellenistic Egypt's taxation system, the occupational and demographic breakdown of the population, and relations between Greeks and Egyptians.

Volume 2, Historical Studies

Series: Cambridge Classical Studies

Willy Clarysse

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Dorothy J. Thompson

University of Cambridge

Paperback

(ISBN-13: 9780521124836)

Also available in Hardback

Published December 2009

In stock

$39.99 (G)

The historical studies of this second volume provide a new look at the economic and social history of Ptolemaic Egypt. The salt-tax registers of P.Count not only throw light on key aspects of the fiscal policy of the Greek pharaohs but also provide the best information for family and household structure for the Western world before the fifteenth century AD. The makeup of the population is thoroughly analysed here in both demographic and occupational terms. A constant theme running throughout is the impact of the Greeks on the indigenous population of Egypt. This is traced in cultural policies, in administrative geography, in the realm of stock-rearing and in the changing religious affiliations traceable through the names that parents gave their children. The extent to which Egypt is typical of the Hellenistic world more widely is the final topic addressed.

Contents

1. Ptolemies, taxes and papyri; 2. The census; 3. The salt-tax and other taxes; 4. Settlement in the Fayum; 5. The people counted; 6. Counting the animals; 7. Family matters; 8. Naming the people; 9. Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

AbstractIn this contribution a papyrus fragment of the Leipzig Papyrus- und Ostrakasammlung is published for the first time. It contains scholia to Callimachus' Iambus XII. The importance of this fragment lies in the new textual elements that contribute to the reconstruction of verses 2 and 3. The textual explanations offer some clues to the content of the lost section of Iambus XII.

AbstractEditions, studies, repertories and web sites dedicated to the Scholia Minora in Homerum testify to the growing interest in these exegetical texts preserved on papyrus. A reconsideration of already published papyri – such as P. Berol. inv. 5014, 11518 and 21306 which constitute the object of the present paper – can often be fruitful, when accompanied by a new inspection and a closer examination in the light of parallel texts.

AbstractThe article offers a new interpretation of a prose fragment that is linked to the Homeric cycle and is preserved in the literary papyrus P.Heid. IV 289.1–6. So far the fragment has been correlated to the Cypria, yet the article shows such a correlation to be not without problems and suggests that the fragment should rather be examined together with a Homeric scholion by Porphyry. Since the papyrus is a century earlier than Porphyry, it should be inferred that either the papyrus preserves the source of Porphyry's scholion or that the two texts have the same older mythographical source in common.

AbstractFollowing the communis opinio tragic poets presented at the Athenian Lenaia only two tragedies, but no satyric play. A revision of the main source IG II2 2319 makes it probable that they presented three tragedies and a satyr play too, just like at the Dionysia.

AbstractThis paper presents new readings in several papyri of Demosthenes: P.Sorb. I 6, P.Oxy. LXII 4314+P.Oxy. LXX 4764, P.Oxy. LXII 4318, P.Oxy. LXII 4319, P.Oxy. LXII 4320, P.Oxy. XV 1810 and P.Oxy. LXII 4324. It is based on a critical re-examination of papyri and parchment fragments containing parts of the orations In Philippum I and In Philippum II of Demosthenes published up till 2002 and on a re-examination of the reliable Byzantine codices in the light of contemporary research.

AbstractPublication of a sixth-century papyrus from the Bodleian Library in which a cancellarius named Flavius Panodorus acknowledges the receipt of two solidi less six carats as a gratuity (сυνθεια) to his office. The papyrus belongs to the first lot of papyri acquired by the Bodleian Library from B. P. Grenfell in 1894; a list and concordance of the papyri constituting this lot is given in an appendix.

AbstractThe sequence of letters καλαμαντιτηc in a short text written on a small sheet of papyrus, PUG I 7 (V/VIp), has created difficulties of interpretation. The solution of this puzzle could be that the letters should not be divided into words, but constitute a single word, incorrectly written, i.e. καλαμινθτηc, a term used by Dioscorides in De mat. med. (5.52) to mean a kind of medicinal wine, flavoured with Calamintha nepeta.

AbstractThe present study, with its concentration on the diffusion of Sarapis names, is intended to demonstrate how onomastic data, collected in computerised databases, can be useful in different ways. It took a long time before parents were prepared to give children Sarapis names, and the majority (85%) were derivations (e.g. Sarapion, Sarapias) rather than full theophoric names (e.g Sarapadoros, Sarapammon), which occur only in Roman times. Some names like Sarapous and Sarapas are geographically limited, and a local martyr cult preseves the popularity of Sarapion and Sarapammon into the Christian period in Middle Egypt. The refinement of the statistical method may lead to wider and different questions.

AbstractA sequel to a series of notes on high-ranking persons who flourished in Late Antique Egypt (the first instalment appeared in APF 51/1 (2005) 87–94). This series refers to the alleged Oxyrhynchite dossier of Fl. Flavianus; the identity of the person who gave his name to the ‘oikos of Theon’; a new attestation for Fl. Strategius II, masqueraded under a misreading; the problem of the Hermopolite comes or comites named Demetrios; and a ghost-dux.

AbstractPersonal inspection of the extant fragments of the Latin-Greek Vergilian palimpsest (L 120 sup) allows new considerations concerning the text of the Aeneid and the way in which it was read and performed. The text here presented includes all the signs and accents that previous editors have ignored.

AbstractThe ‘Papyrus Portal’ is a project that aims to provide the user with an efficient and effective search of all digitized and electronically catalogued papyrus collections in Germany, and a unified presentation of the search results with the most important information on the particular papyrus. This includes links to the local home databases which have more details on each piece. The ‘Papyrus Portal’ unites the different information technologies of the original databases and presents the search results in a standard format. A conventiontional format for the recording of the metadata has been established.